Thread by @thorstenbenner

Remarkable interview by Siemens CEO @JoeKaeser on Kuka & Chinese investments: "Chinese go into companies, give guarantees. It's quiet for a while. Then new company founded that integrates existing firm. R&D relocated. This also seems to be case with Kuka".
augsburger-allgemeine.de/wirtschaft/Sie…

Kaeser says Siemens tried to buy Kuka but "we couldn`t convince owners. I couldn´t have justified price of 4 billion EURO". With no appropriate foreign investment law in place in 2016, Chinese investor was able to acquire key tech company by willingness to pay inflated price.

Now Siemens now wants to build up its own robotics division: "Many customers turn away from Kuka since they don't want to make themselves dependent on a company that got into different hands".

Kaeser: "There was a conviction that everything stays the same with Chinese, just with a market ten times larger. But this has now been proven wrong. One could have known this at the time".

Interview is all the more remarkable since Kaeser has been leading cheerleader of Belt & Road Initiative calling it "wise and powerful" initiative and "new world trade organization", signing numerous cooperation agreements.
gbtimes.com/germanys-sieme…

Also key: @JoeKaeser is new chairman of Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA) . There were concerns he'd use this for a Siemens First strategy along lines of his BRI hyping. This sets very different tone in line with emerging APA majority stance.
english.bdi.eu/bdi/organisati…